Without the media, nigerian sports cannot breathe

Without the media, nigerian sports cannot breathe — Honourable Bukola Olopade

...NSC DG rallies journalists to join the push for a new sporting era

By Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye, who was at the Big Sports Dialogue 1.0

The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Honourable Chief Bukola Olopade, on Monday delivered a powerful charge to Nigerian sports journalists, describing the media as the “lifeblood and backbone” of sports development in the country.

Addressing a hall packed with powerbrokers at the Big Sports Dialogue 1.0 in Ikoyi, Lagos, Olopade left no room for doubt: Nigerian sports cannot rise without the full weight of the press behind it.

In a stirring message, he warned federations and associations against sidelining the media, insisting such neglect is a direct threat to their survival.

“The media are the unsung heroes — the silent gears that keep every federation running. Any association that ignores the press is signing its own stagnation,” he declared to rousing nods.

Olopade called on journalists across the federation to close ranks with the NSC, led by Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko, as the Commission attempts to power Nigeria into a new sporting dawn. He stressed that the sweeping reforms underway — inspired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s sports development agenda — hinge heavily on the strength, accuracy, and consistency of media coverage.

According to him, the success of Nigeria’s sports transformation “cannot be fully realised without an aggressive, united media front,” especially through the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN).

The NSC DG capped his remarks with heartfelt gratitude to journalists nationwide, praising their doggedness, loyalty, and the fire they continue to bring to the nation’s sports discourse.

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